Heat Advisory

on saturday i gave in. i had been lying on my couch since friday afternoon, trying to convince myself that the hot and impossibly humid blanket of atmosphere could be eased by my hardworking fan. i couldn't take it anymore; i couldn't put it off any longer. i left my apartment and trudged over to the local appliance store (i am not going to plug them because some of the staff there were, quite frankly, less than friendly). i picked up an air conditioner that was supposed to be the right capacity for my living room and i took a cab home. i paid a guy $25 to carry the thing up to my fourth floor apartment and set about installing this window unit.

i pull out the instruction book and follow it step by step. there are some things i can't do - like bolt the unit to my outside sill, because it appears to be made out of iron and i can't seem to make a dent in it. but i get the thing in the window and go to the second last step. i am supposed to remove a screw from the ac unit. except, now that it is in the window, my screwdriver won't fit in to the side to do this. so... i am holding on to the a/c unit and trying to move it out of the window so i can start again and the next thing i know the machine is airborne.

i try to grab it but get only air (which might be a good thing because that unit gained momentum with a quickness and i might have just followed it) and then i watch it tumble down and hit the ground. it hit the ground with an almighty crash and hissed for the next 30 minutes, as i paced around my apartment, wringing my hands and saying oh my god, over and over again. and then i looked out the window and, yes, it was still there, pieces scattered below; thankfully no one pinned underneath it, as far as i could see.

the thought crossed my mind - maybe i can take the pieces back for an exchange. but once i got downstairs - frantic and sweaty as all get down, sanity returned. there was no way.

perhaps it is a sign... maybe i am to be a lab rat for global warming...
we have a heat advisory today